Old Tribune Building Being Gutted

Michael Barnard, working for Walker Construction and Demolition, points to the brick sections on the building at Wall Street and National Avenue, that will be converted back to the original storefronts, he said.

Workers were doing demolition on the building located at 9 S. National Avenue Wednesday, known as the old Tribune building.

Michael Barnard and members of the Yoder family were”gutting” down to the floor and wall, Barnard said.

The crew was hired by Walker Construction and Demolition, Barnard said.

Jennifer LaRoche is the owner of the building, since early 2017.

In a later interview, LaRoche said the demolition is part of the “cleaning up” of the historic building at Wall Street and National Avenue, “so we can see what we got”.

“We still have lots of ideas,” for the building, she said.

A member of the Yoder family works on the demolition of the building at 9 S. National Avenue that most recently housed the Fort Scott Community College Cosmetology School. The school was a section of the Tribune building.